Braid: Premier Redford’s troubles deepen in tobacco contract row

CALGARY — During another riveting day with little precedent in the Alberta legislature, the premier stood accused of contempt of parliament, Wildrose rolled out new damaging documents, and the NDP called on Alison Redford to step down until the allegations are resolved.

She won’t leave, of course. And Speaker Gene Zwozdesky reserved his ruling on the contempt citation until next week.

If he says a premier of his own party must answer for her actions, that will be a rare thing indeed in Alberta.

It would also have the unintentionally hilarious effect of sending the case to the infamous no-work, no-meet committee that enriched so many MLAs and became a scandal last spring.

Finally, something for that crowd to do.

But there was little levity in the old chamber Thursday, as the mood switched abruptly from Wednesday’s angry vitriol to quiet tension.

That’s because this matter is very serious. The speaker himself said exactly that, after hearing debate on the Wildrose motion to find Redford in contempt for deliberately misleading the legislature.

Wildrose said again that the premier decided to award the contract for a huge lawsuit against the tobacco industry to a consortium that included the law firm of her ex-husband, Robert Hawkes.

That in itself is not illegal. But Redford, instead of dealing with the initial conflict allegation, focused on the decision to award the contract.

She says she did not make that call. Redford and her ministers argue that the deal wasn’t done until four months after she quit cabinet to run for the PC leadership.

The PCs’ counter-story was best outlined by Verlyn Olson, her successor as justice minister, who described steps and negotiations he was involved in that led to a final contract.

“Nobody ever explained to me it’s a done deal,” he said. “This was far from a decision having finally been made.”

That had some impact; Olson is admired on both sides of the house as an honourable man.

But the PCs clearly face a big problem.

Wildrose has paper, plenty of it, released through Freedom of Information.

They’ve got a stack of e-mails and memos prepared by Redford, justice department officials, and the winning law firm.

On Dec. 14, 2010, Redford said in a signed memo that “the best choice for Alberta will be the International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers” (the group that includes Hawkes’ firm.)

A month later, a senior official wrote: “shortly before Christmas, Minister Redford selected the International Tobacco Recovery Lawyers.”

Further memos showed that the losing firms were notified of the decision in late December. So was the winning group.

A memo to the government from JSS Barristers, Hawkes’ Calgary firm, said “we were very happy to learn that we will be working with you on the health care recovery claim.”

All that was written before Redford stepped out of cabinet in February.

But the government argues that when lawyers are paid on contingency, there is no deal until the final terms are signed. And that didn’t happen until June 21, 2011.

One’s impressions go back and forth. These are complex matters explained by smart people.

But Wildrose has a paper trail. So far, the PCs offer only words.

It’s unlikely they can escape damage here without releasing documents that prove their own case.

However that works out, new shades of this story are starting to emerge.

Alberta’s claim on the tobacco companies is $10 billion in compensation for tobacco-related health-care costs.

If the contingency fee is 20 per cent, as suggested Wildrose MLA Shayne Saskiw, $2 billion in fees could be up for grabs.

So far, the PCs won’t explain the terms, or release any documents.

They’re asking for trust. To this point, it’s a frail defence against a pile of their own documents.

Comments

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.